


Fans and Swords

by mila_mila



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M, Fights, Original Character(s), Weapons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-18
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:48:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25361887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mila_mila/pseuds/mila_mila
Summary: Everyone always talks about Toph's missing field trip with Zuko, but what about Suki's
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Sokka/Suki (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), Suki/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 65





	Fans and Swords

**Author's Note:**

> **A/N:** This one was SO FUN to write. I really love the dynamic between Suki and Zuko, and I wish they had more screen time together! I also left it up to your interpretation if you'd like (there's elements of Sukka, Zukka, and Zuki, so take your pick). I'm just here to rep Suki as much as humanly possible lmao. Enjoy!!

# Fans and Swords

* * *

Things had been kind of boring the last few days. After the festivities of the war being over had faded away, the Gaang was left with some time to relax and vacation. They all deserved it, after all. At the current moment, everyone was off doing their own things. Katara and Aang were spending some much needed time together, Toph was sleeping, Mai was watching after her little brother Tom-Tom, and Sokka was polishing his boomerang and sword. Suki and Zuko were left alone in the courtyard, an awkward silence settling between them. Just beyond the fence, Suki could see Ty Lee and the other Kyoshi Warriors practicing some chi-blocking moves. She spoke up, interrupting the silence.

"Hey Zuko, you wouldn't want to learn some Kyoshi Warrior moves by any chance...would you?" she asked, leaning to look over at him.

He looked up at her, an expression of surprise on his face which quickly turned into a small smile.

"Actually...that sounds like a lot of fun," he replied.

"Okay! What do you say we hop on Appa and take a quick trip to Kyoshi Island? I'm sure Aang wouldn't mind," Suki suggested, standing up and brushing off her hands on her pants.

He followed suit, and they went to find Aang. Instead, they found Katara in the library, a book laying open on her legs.

"Hey guys!" Katara said cheerily, waving.

"Hi! We were looking for Aang actually," Suki said, "do you know where he is?"

"Yep! He's right here," she replied, grinning and pointing a finger towards one of the aisles.

Aang peeked his head out just inches away from the ceiling. Suki and Zuko both tilted their heads. He had grown a few inches in the last two weeks, but he wasn't quite that tall. He flew out from behind the bookcase on a huge stack of air. Suki held her hands up to block her eyes from the wind as Aang dropped down to the ground and laughed, clutching his stomach. Suki grinned, shaking her head. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Zuko chuckle.

"Hi Aang. We were just wondering if we could borrow Appa? We were gonna drop by Kyosh Island so I can teach this guy some moves," Suki said, playfully punching Zuko's arm. He chuckled, grabbing his arm.

"Oh yeah! Of course! I'm sure Appa would be up for a little adventure. Have fun you guys," Aang said, smiling and waving.

"Be careful you two. But have fun," Katara said, returning to her reading as Aang kissed her on the cheek.

Suki and Zuko made their way to the gardens where Appa was snoring in a bed of flowers. Suki chuckled as she pounced on Appa's fluffy fur and scratched him behind his ear. He groaned and rolled over, giving Suki a tap with his tongue.

"Hey Appa! How would you like to go on an adventure?" Suki asked, petting him. He groaned again and turned around so that they could crawl onto his back. Suki parkoured up onto Appa and helped Zuko up with her hand outstretched. Once they were on Appa, Suki directed him towards Kyoshi Island. The journey wasn't terribly long , but it was long enough that an awkward silence settled over them once again.

"So...how are you...doing?" Zuko asked, very awkwardly.

"Uh...fine. You can talk to me like a friend, Zuko. We're chill," she said, gesturing to their relationship.

"Oh, really? That's cool. That's awesome, actually. I'm really glad to hear that. I was, uh...not sure...how you felt about me

"Well, I won't lie about the fact that it's pretty upsetting how you almost burned down my entire village," she said, looking back at him with a serious expression.

He turned the brightest red she had ever seen, and she had to keep herself from laughing. Yes, of course she cared about what he had done to her hometown, but she also knew that he had been doing what he thought was right at the time. While it was difficult for her to accept at first, all of her friends trusted him and forgave him for his past wrongs. Why should she be any different? Plus, this little field trip would just give her an opportunity to get back at him.

"But I still like you. I see that you're a good person, and I trust my friends who all seem to think the same. I respect you for choosing good, when everyone in your life wanted you to be bad. It's a difficult thing to do, to go against what everyone else wants from you. To do what you really want to do. I admire you," she said, speaking the truth from her perspective. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him smile and reach up to touch his eye. Was he crying?

"Thanks. That means a lot to me," he said, looking away from her.

The rest of the flight was spent in silence, but it wasn't awkward or empty. It was just...silence. When Appa landed, Zuko hopped off first and offered his hand to Suki. She took it, and he helped her jump down. After giving Appa some pets and entrusting him to one of the town's council members, Suki held her arms out.

"So this is Kyoshi Island. It used to be much nicer, but then it, you know, caught on fire," she said, giving Zuko a side eye and a pout. He flushed and gave an awkward chuckle.

"...sorry? Again?"

"It's fine. You can just help rebuild it," she said, walking towards the Kyoshi Museum. "So since you didn't really get to see Kyoshi Island last time, before you destroyed it," she gave him a look again, "I figured that I could give you a quick tour before we start training."

"Okay," Zuko said, his face still bright red.

She led him into the Kyoshi Museum. It was quite cool inside with the shade. The sun was very hot that day, since it was nearing the end of summer.

"Welcome to the Kyoshi Museum, built in honor of our very own Avatar Kyoshi," she said, bowing towards the giant mural of the previous avatar. She leaned against the wall as he looked around. He stopped when he reached what had once been the shoe of Avatar Kyoshi.

"Woah...what is this thing?" he asked, turning around to face Suki. She covered her mouth as she giggled.

"That's Avatar Kyoshi's shoe. Well, it was her shoe. Everyone always seems so shocked about her shoe size. You know, she had the largest feet of any avatar," Suki said, crossing her arms as she stood by Zuko.

"No kidding," he replied, glancing once more at the shoe.

"Alright. Training time?" she asked. He nodded, and she led him over to the training facility.

Once they were inside, she went straight to the drawer that held all of the extra uniforms and makeup that the warriors used. She pulled out an extra large and thrust it into his hands.

"First step of K.W. training: uniform," she said firmly.

"K.W. training?" he asked, looking uncertain about the uniform.

"Kyoshi Warrior training?" she quirked her eyebrow towards him, and he blushed again. He got embarrassed easily. "Change into that, and then we'll work on your makeup."

"Okay...my what?"

"Go! Change!" she pushed him into the bathroom.

When he came out into the training room after changing, he found her sitting on the ground with her legs crossed and makeup spread around her. She gestured to the floor in front of her.

"Sit."

He tried to sneakily fix his uniform, which was starting to ride up, but ended up looking like he had to pee really bad. Suki just smirked and shook her head.

"Not so easy being a K.W. is it?"

"Well...it's not as comfortable. That's for sure."

He sat, mirroring her. She reached for the white face paint and a sponge.

"First, we cover our faces with white paint. This white paint was worn by Avatar Kyoshi while she was alive. It was originally a trademark of the Flying Opera Company and was used as theatre faceprint. At the time, the white symbolized treachery, a sinister nature, suspicion of others, and the willingness to do evil things if necessary. These are the qualities Kyoshi wanted to share with the outside world, as a means of intimidation. Now, we just kind of wear it to honor the memory of Kyoshi."

She reached up with the sponge and dabbed the paint all over Zuko's face, until it almost completely white. When she was done with that, she reached for the red powder.

"Next, we add red around the eyes. The red symbolizes honor, loyalty, and heroism. Those are still things that we consider very important to becoming a K.W. Those are signs of a great warrior, and they are the virtues we only share with those who are initiated into the group."

"Wait, I haven't been initiated yet. Why did you tell me?"

"Because they're things that you already understand. And you're a friend. And you can't be a full-time member anyway, since...you know, you're a dude. The K.W.s are only women. Sorry."

She carefully painted the familiar red streaks over Zuko's eyes, being careful not to get paint in his eyes. When she reached the scarred side of his face, she stopped and put the sponge down.

"What are you doing? Don't you need to cover this eye," he pointed to it and then his face dropped. "Oh...I see."

"No! There's nothing wrong with your eye. The Kyoshi Warriors believe in sacrifice and and bravery. Scars are badges that we earn when we do something courageous. I would never cover up something that's such an outward display of your honor. Plus...it's kinda red already," she attempted a joke, a little worried that she took it too far.

To her joy, he actually chuckled and smiled, showing his teeth! She smiled back, happy that she finally made a connection with him.

"Lastly, we add some black to define the curves of the face. This adds an element of sharpness and exactness that we strive for in our movements. The black also serves to strike fear in the hearts of our opponents."

She painted the black lines onto his face, again being careful of his eyes. When she was done, she packed up the paint and smiled at him.

"Welcome to K.W. training, Zuko. You have successfully completed step one."

He smiled, and she had to admit that he looked quite attractive. The Kyoshi makeup had the strange affect of making everyone who wore it ten times more mysterious and beautiful than before. She had loved seeing Sokka in the face paint so long ago. Even through the white paint, she could sort of see him blushing. Sokka had done the same, but not as much. He was used to wearing war paint. After all, what was the Kyoshi makeup except for war paint?

Zuko reached for the mirror laying next to Suki's foot and held it up. He was taken aback by his appearance. Even though he felt a little embarrassed, wearing women's clothing and makeup, he kind of liked what he saw in the mirror. Strangely, Suki was right that the color of his scar sort of blended into the rest of the makeup. She was also right about the affects of the makeup. It made him feel powerful, feared, and strong. He was ready to train.

"Now we have to talk about the uniform so that you understand. It's not just clothes. These pieces were chosen for specific reasons. The golden insignia represents the honor of a warrior's heart..."

Zuko felt a pang again at that word. Honor. It had meant so much to him for such a long time. Now, it just felt like a word. A word that made him proud.

"And the silk threads that fall from the headdress symbolize the brave blood that flows through our veins as warriors. We are strong, courageous, and loyal. We do what needs to be done, even if it costs us our lives. That is the oath you must take to become a Kyoshi Warrior."

He nodded, impressed at her conviction. He had known that the Kyoshi Warriors were a talented and strong group of women, but he had no idea how committed they were to making the world a better and safer place.

"And for the last piece of the costume, you'll need these," she said, opening up another box and pulling out two golden fans. She handed them to Zuko, and he was surprised at the weight. They were heavy and made of metal with gold paint. As he played with the weight of them, he felt the power that they possessed and the potential.

"An important thing to remember about the fans is that they're not individual weapons that are separate from the body. In fact, they are an extra part of the body. They are extensions of the arm, and you should use them as such. The most important aspect of using the fan, is being able to close and reopen it. Closing it allows you to use it as an offensive weapon as well as deflecting things like throwing knives or darts. You an also use it as a boomerang - Sokka always liked that fact - or as a projectile. Opening the fan," she was demonstrating with her own, "allows you to use it as a more of a defensive weapon, blocking blows from your opponent. They even work to block bending, as we found out with your sister, Azula."

"Wait...these things withstood a fire blast from Azula?" he asked, examining the object again.

"Yep. Our shields can do the same. They were barely scratched when we used them against her."

"You have shields?"

"Yep. We also have katanas, but you must master the fans first. That is the primary weapon of the kyoshi warriors. Now, let's work on some basic moves."

She demonstrated a move and was shocked at how quickly he got it. She moved on to some harder movements, but he had no trouble moving and working with the fans.

"I have to admit that I'm a little surprised at how well you're doing. You really know how to handle a fan," Suki said, inquisitively tilting her head at him.

"Well, they're actually quite similar to katanas, so it's not too hard to get used to them. They're basically the same actually, just shaped differently. But you treat them the same, as extensions of the arm."

"Wait have you had katana training? You talk like you know what I mean."

"Well...not katanas specifically, but I have been trained to use dual broadswords, which are very similar in theory."

"No way! I wouldn't have pegged you as a broadswords type of guy, but now that you mention it I can see it. You don't...happen to have them with you...do you? I've always wanted to try them out," Suki asked.

"Yeah, actually, I do. I try to bring them with me when I travel in case of trouble. Don't tell anyone, but I kinda prefer them to firebending. They're definitely more reliable."

He rummaged in the pack he brought and pulled out the swords, gently handing them over to Suki. She flipped them around in her hands, testing the weight and the length and trying to get used to them. She stepped back and performed a couple of movements with them.

"Oh...I like these," she smiled up at Zuko. "They're a little bulkier than katanas, but they feel like they have so much more power behind them. You could do a lot of damage with these babies."

"Oh yeah. I'm sure you would be great with those. Would you wanna learn some moves?"

"Absolutely! We can do a trade. I'll teach you some moves with the fans, and you can teach me some moves with the broadswords."

"Deal."

Suki and Zuko spent the next little bit working on moves together. Suki taught Zuko how to deflect throwing knives, strike with the fan, and even deflect darts by angling the fan so that the dart bounced off in a safe direction. He did excellently and masted the moves in no time. Then, it was Suki's turn. While she was clearly well-versed in using katana swords, the broadswords took a little bit to get used to the weight. Once she did, though she was an expert with them as well. Zuko taught her how to block with the swords and strike with them. She really enjoyed the heaviness of the weapons when she got used to them. It made her feel bigger and even more powerful than when she used her fans. The fans made her feel swift and light. Both were good options, but she enjoyed the new challenge of the broadswords.

"Don't forget. They're extensions of the arm, same as the fans. Don't let the weight get you down, just let it guide you. Use it to your advantage. That's what my master taught me."

"Your master?"

"Yeah. I trained with a sword master back in the day. Uncle Iroh hooked me up. He was great. He was a really good teacher," Zuko responded.

"Oh, cool. What was his name?"

"Uh...I actually don't know his first name...I always just called him Master Piandao."

Suki stopped dead in her tracks.

"What did you say?"

"Uh...I always just called him Master Piandao, but I think that was his family name...I'm not sure, but I-"

Suki burst out laughing. Zuko just stared at her with a look of pure confusion on his face while Suki clutched her aching stomach. Once she calmed down, she took a deep breath and smiled at Zuko.

"Sorry, but it's just so funny to me. I can't be totally sure, but...I'm pretty sure that's the same guy who was Sokka's sword master. Like, almost positive."

"...Sokka had a sword master? In the Fire Nation?"

"Yeah. It must have been before you became one of the good guys and joined the group. I know it was before you guys broke me out from prison. Apparently, he took a bunch of lessons and even fashioned his own sword out of a meteorite."

"Really? That's...pretty cool, actually. Yeah I remember making these with Master Piandao," Zuko said, running his finger along the blade. "It was hard work."

"You made these?" Suki asked, looking at them with a newfound appreciation.

"Yeah. They've held up pretty well, if I do say so myself," he replied.

"Well...at least you don't have a name for them. Sokka calls the one he made his 'space sword.'"

Suki smiled fondly at her doofus of a boyfriend and looked dup to a flushed Zuko.

"Oh spirits...you named yours, too?" she said, shaking her head. "Are all men the same?"

Zuko shrugged.

Suddenly, one of the Kyoshi Island council members came rushing into the training facility.

"Suki! We've just received some troubling news," he said.

She relaxed her arms, handing the swords to Zuko and approaching the man.

"Yuko! What happened?"

He handed her a piece of parchment. It was a letter.

"We just received this. It came by messenger hawk. I can only assume from the Fire Nation," he said, nervously wringing his fingers.

Suki urgently read the letter. She felt Zuko's presence behind her and assumed he, too, was reading through it.

"Oh no...the other Kyoshi Warriors, they're in trouble."

It was a ransom note, detailing what was expected in exchange for the safe return of the Kyoshi Warriors, the location where they should meet for the exchange, and it was signed by someone name Tan Sho.

"It's from some sort of Ozai support group, it sounds like," Suki murmured to no one in particular.

"Yeah. The New Ozai Society. We'd better move quickly. Should we go back and get the gang?"

"No. I'm not sure that we have time. We need to move fast, before they realize that we've received the letter. Maybe we can catch them by surprise," Suki said, grabbing her fans. She hesitated in the doorway, turning to Zuko.

"I have kind of a crazy idea."

He looked at her expectantly.

"What if we...switched weapons? Just for this one mission? It might be fun and challenging?" she asked. She really wanted to use the broadswords in battle. Plus, it was good to challenge yourself every so often.

"Sure. Sounds fun," he said, smiling softly.

They quickly switched weapons, Zuko taking the fans and giving Suki his broadswords. They rushed to Appa and climbed onto his back, heading in the location where the exchange was to be made. On the way, they talked strategy. The place was inside the Fire Nation, so Zuko was somewhat familiar with the landscape. When Appa landed, they got off as silently as possible. The sun was beginning to set, and the fire lamps in the town were lit with flickering fire. As darkness crawled across the sky, Suki and Zuko crept against the buildings, searching for the place of the exchange. While it could very well be true that the location specified on the document wasn't where the K.W.s were being kept, it was wishful thinking. When they found the place, they armed themselves and prepared to sneak in and attack. As they crept through the building, they began to hear elevated voices and followed the noise. Excellent, so this was the place.

Crouching behind the wall near an entrance to the room, they looked in. Suki motioned to Zuko, and he looked to see all of the Kyoshi Warriors tied to chairs and spread in a circle in the room. There were several men speaking in loud tones and guarding the circle. They were wearing dark red cloaks and some kind of mask. Suki quickly counted the number of bad guys in the room, totaling to nine. Nine versus two wasn't exactly a fair fight, but she would never turn her back on her friends, especially her fellow warriors who were counting on her to lead them. She nudged Zuko and pointed to a crate in the corner that held all of the fans and katanas of the warriors. She gave Zuko a look which said, "are you ready?" To which, he simply nodded, flipping the fans open with a quiet shling. Suki gripped the broadswords, looking forward to the opportunity to bust some heads.

"Shhh...what was that?" one of the men asked.

Suki and Zuko flooded the room as if a dam had broken and released all of the years of water it was holding back. Suki took the man closest to them and used the swords to defend herself against his dagger. She elbowed him in one of the pressure points Ty Lee showed her and kicked him to the ground. He lay helpless, his body unable to move. She moved on to the next two, one sword reaching out for each man. Her left arm swung up to jab the first in the chin, he fell backwards, unconscious. The other man fought back, but Suki was able to kick off the wall near her and hit him in the back of the neck with the hilt of the sword.

Meanwhile, Zuko was using the fans to deflect the throwing knives that were being tossed at his face. He threw one of the fans and it cut one of the bad guys right in the throat, incapacitating him. He fell to the ground just as three more approached Zuko. He fought off two while one of the Kyoshi Warriors who was tied up stuck her foot out and tripped the third. Zuko quickly shot her a grateful look before turning back to the two men he was fighting. He only had one fan, but the other wasn't far away.

"Suki!" he yelled, pointing at the fan that laid near her foot. She swung her leg up and kicked the man she was fighting under the jaw as she picked up the fan. When she turned to hit the man with the hilt of her sword, she threw the fan towards Zuko, who caught it and jammed it straight into the groin of the first man and the stomach of the second. They both stumbled backwards. By that time, the one who had tripped was up again and took one look at Zuko before running straight out of the open doorway. During Zuko's fight, Suki had taken down the man she was fighting. Now there were only two left. The pair looked at each other and nodded.

"Together," they both said and lunged at the two men.

They took them down quickly and together, super proud of their teamwork. Once all of the men were unconscious or otherwise out of order, they quickly cut the warriors loose. They rushed to get their stuff from the crate in the corner as Suki and Zuko tied up the men.

"Who are you? And why are you in Kyoshi stuff? You're a guy, right? You are aware that we only accept women into this elite force," one of the Kyoshi warriors approached Zuko, pointing her closed fan at him accusingly.

"Woah, woah. Kimo, chill. It's Zuko," Suki said, pushing her best friend and second in command's arm down.

"No way...really? How come you're all dressed up in Kyoshi garb and using fans?"

"We took a little field trip and discovered that we're more alike than we realized. These," Suki gestured to the broadswords, "are his."

Kimo looked impressed.

"Really? I haven't known many benders who stoop low enough to learn any non-bending fighting styles. I'm impressed. But, I 'm still confused. Why do you have the fans, and why does Suki have your swords?"

Suki laughed, shaking her head.

"We traded! We realized that the fans and broadswords are very similar. They're both an extension of the arm, so you use them in similar ways. By the way, they're super fun and feel a lot more powerful than our katanas. Also, hey!" her tone grew angry, "What happened? How did they kidnap you and why did they take you?"

"Well we were all just taking a break from training and relaxing on the edge of the palace grounds when these guys popped out of some bushes. We barely had time to react, and we were completely outnumbered. Before we knew it, we had been blindfolded with knives held to our backs. They brought us here and took our blindfolds off after they tied us to these chairs. It's kind of embarrassing, honestly. We should have been able to take them, but we were just so overwhelmed. I guess we weren't expecting to be ambushed so soon after the end of the war. Anyway, I'm not sure exactly why they kidnapped us, but I'm assuming they heard something about us potentially becoming the full-time guards of the Fire Lord and his family. They also mentioned something about needing money to support their campaign against the Fire Lord. I think they're still in the developmental stage of their group. They didn't seem too organized," Kimo responded.

Suki shook her head in disgust.

"I can't believe people still support Ozai's cause of world domination and genocide," she said with a sigh. "Well, do we have everyone?"

"Yep, everyone's here."

"Wait! Where's Ty Lee?!" Suki asked, looking around frantically.

"Oh, don't worry," Kimo gave a flippant gesture. "After you left, she decided to join Mai. She went shopping, so she was spared from all this."

Suki chuckled and sighed.

"Fair enough. Is everybody okay?"

"Yeah, I think everyone is just fine, KiKi. The broadswords, by the way? They suit you," Kimo responded.

Suki rolled her eyes. She really hated that nickname, but she allowd Kimo to call her that, as long as she could call Kimo MoMo. (You can imagine the amusement Suki got out of the irony of the fact that the Gaang's pet flying lemur was also named Momo.) It only made Kimo dislike her nickname more.

"Thanks, MoMo," Suki said, playfully smacking her friend on the back as she went to check on the rest of the group.

"KiKi? MoMo?" Zuko asked, a pained expression on his face.

"Yeah...we don't like them either, but we all got silly nicknames as part of initiation."

"Well, I know how you feel. Azula used to call me ZuZu," he said, physically cringing at the old memories. He really hated that nickname.

"Oh wow...ew," Suki said, laughing. Zuko just smiled and sighed deeply.

"We should probably get out of here. One of those men ran out during the fight. I don't know if he was running for help, or if he was just scared. But I don't think we want to stick around to find out."

Suki nodded.

"Come on girls. I think we've had enough of an adventure for today, don't you?"

"Yeah. I'm exhausted," Kimo responded, shaking her head.

"Let's go back to the capital and get some rest."

The ride back was uneventful, except for the fact that Suki, Zuko, and the rest of the Kyoshi Warriors (of which there were five ) all had to fit on the back of Appa. Without the saddle. It was a rough ride, and every single passenger was extremely glad when the giant flying bison finally landed on the front walk before the palace doors. Everyone slid off, feeling just a little bit sick to their stomachs. Suki and Zuko put Appa to bed in the stables, making sure that he had plenty of hay to last him the night before wandering back to their rooms. The Gaang all had rooms down the same hallway so that they could be close to each other. In some ways, it was nice to have the whole family together. In other ways...it wasn't.

When they reached their doors, they looked at each other.

"Well, that was fun. Thanks for the field trip, Zuko," Suki said, smiling.

"Sure. It was fun. Thanks for letting me try the fans. See you tomorrow, Suki," he opened the door and stepped inside. As he did so, he heard Suki say something.

"Night ZuZu," she said, stepping into her room. Without skipping a beat, he responded.

"Night, KiKi."

He heard her laugh from her room and smiled.

* * *

 **A/N:** I am accepting requests for avatar fics and lotr/the hobbit fics! if you're interested, send me a message on my [tumblr](https://legolas-green-leaf.tumblr.com/ask)!!


End file.
